Hanger with decorative member

ABSTRACT

A hanger for hanging an object comprising a body having means for attaching at least one interchangeable member and a hook for suspending the object is described.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to devices for displayingobjects, particularly devices used to hang an object that can alsodisplay a decorative member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various hanger devices have been used for hanging objects, such asartwork, photographs, calendars, and the like. Some hangers have a bodyportion that is secured to a surface, such as a wall, and may also havea hook attached to the body portion. These hangers may be formed fromone piece or assembled as separate pieces. The hook portion typicallysuspends an object by hanging the object on the directly hook, or byattaching a second securing device, such as a clip, which suspends theobject from the hook. The body of the hanger is sometimes attached to awall, but may be attached to other surfaces, such as a metal surfacewith the use of a magnet. Hooks may range from simple items, such as anail, to elaborately formed pieces that may include curves andflourishes.

A hanger must be securely attached to the surface such that the hangerholds the object without the object and or the hanger detaching from thesurface. The object may have a preformed hole or a user may create ahole in the object to use the hook portion of the hanger to display theobject. Alternatively, a clip may be attached to the hanger to displaythe object without the need for a hole.

Some hangers are used to hang typically flat items of interest, such asartwork, pictures, photographs, calendars and the like. These hangersmay be as simple as a nail for objects with preformed holes; objectswithout holes require a clip to secure the object without creating ahole to affix the object to a surface, such as a wail. Users sometimesdesire to attach an object to a metal surface, such as a file cabinet,refrigerator, or other office or home metal display area. Hanging anobject on a metal surface requires a magnet strong enough to hold theweight of the calendar. Other surfaces, such as cloth and wood requireother types of fastening mechanisms.

Existing hangers are usually drab. The object typically hangs below thehanger, leaving a portion of the hanger exposed to view. Many usersdesire a more attractive hanger to liven their environment. Some usersdesire embellishments that denote something of interest to the user,such as organizational affiliation, hobbies, special occasions, seasons,holidays, and the like. A need exists for a hanger that hangs an objectthat can also display a decorative member.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a hanger comprising a body having means tofasten the hanger to a surface, such as a wall. The body has a first anda second side surface. The first side surface of the body has means forreleasably attaching at least one interchangeable member. The member maybe ornamental. The present invention comprises a hook that extends fromthe first side surface for hanging an object. Alternatively, the presentinvention includes a clip having a first end with an openingcorresponding to the hook and a second end used to releasably secure theobject.

The present invention further comprises a kit including the hangerdescribed above and a set of interchangeable members. The set comprisesa selection of members grouped by a theme.

The present invention and its advantages and uses will become apparentfrom the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings. The drawings constitute a part of thespecification of the invention, which includes exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention and illustrate various objects and featuresthereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of the hanger.

FIG. 2 is a front view of an alternate embodiment of the hanger showinga clip attached to the hook.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the hanger showing an embodiment of a hook.

FIG. 4 is a front view of an embodiment of the hanger showing the meansfor releasably attaching a member.

FIGS. 5 a and 5 b depict side views of different member embodiments.

FIG. 5 c shows a front view of a member.

FIG. 5 d shows a front view of an embodiment of a member attached to thebody.

FIGS. 6 a, 6 b, 6 c and 6 d depict alternate embodiments of members.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is formed from a durable material, such as ametal, wood, resin, strong plastic or other generally rigid material. Inan embodiment, the present invention is formed from at least one metalpiece. In an alternate embodiment, the present invention is molded as asingle piece of generally rigid plastic material, such as apolyethylene; however the invention may be comprised of more than onepart.

The hanger of the present invention provides means for displaying ahanging object while adding a member, such as a decorative component. Asshown in FIGS. 1-4, the hanger of the present invention comprises a body10 comprising fastening means 11 for fastening the hanger to astructure. The fastening means of the hanger may comprise a hole 11 forreceiving a hanger-fastening means to secure the hanger to thestructure. Alternatively, the hanger-fastening means may be a connector11 a connected to the second side surface 32. The hanger fastening means11, 11 a may be a hole, a magnet, an adhesive, a hook, a snap, a suctioncup and the like, and or a molded fastening system, such as a nubreceiving bracket arrangement. As depicted in the embodiment pictures inFIG. 1, the shape of the body 10 may be elongated; however, any shapethat meets the objectives of the invention may be used.

As shown in FIG. 3, the body 10 has a first side surface 31 and a secondside surface 32. The first side surface 31 has a releasably attachingmeans for releasably attaching one or more interchangeable member 50(FIGS. 5 a-6 d). A hook 33 extends from the first side surface 31. Thehook 33 is useful for suspending an object from the hanger. The hook 33may comprise a first section 34 extending generally perpendicular fromthe body and a second section 35 attached to the first section extendingupward from the first section.

The hanger of the present invention optionally comprising a clip 21. Theclip 21 has a first end 22 with an opening 23 that can engage the hookand a second end 24 for clasping an object.

The releasably attaching means for releasably attaching the one or moreinterchangeable member to the hanger may be magnetic or mechanical.Mechanical means include but are not limited to a sticker system, astatic plastic member system, a felt system, a spring biased clip, africtional holder, a hook and loop fastener holder, an adhesive holder,a pocket and the like. As shown in FIG. 5 a, the releasably attachingmeans comprises a body portion 55 connected to the first side surface ofthe body 10 that corresponds to a compatible portion 56 located on aback surface 51 of the member 50. The releasably attaching means may bein the form of strips attached respectively to the first side surface ofthe body that correspond to compatible strips located on the backsurface 51 of the member 50.

In an embodiment, the member 50 is made from a ferrous material and mayor may not have a compatible portion, and the releasably attaching meansis a magnet attached to the first side surface 31 of the body 10. In analternative embodiment, the releasably attaching means is a pocket intowhich a user places the member 50. The pocket supports all shapes andsizes of members 50. The pocket may be a flexible or rigid material. Thepocket may be transparent or opaque; open or solid, and may bedecorative or plain.

The member may be formed from any suitable material, including but notlimited to clay, porcelain, paper, glass, metal, wood, resin, rubber,cloth and the like. The members form and depiction are not limited. Themember 50 may be flat (as depicted in FIG. 5 a) and or athree-dimensional shape (as depicted in FIG. 5 b). The member 50 may beartwork and or a textual work, and may include shapes (geometric, etc.),drawings, numerals, words, such as sayings, checklists, and the like,expressions of present feelings, such as happy faces and the like. Theartwork may be a decorative, educational, informational and or anadvertising design. Alternatively, the member 50 may be an object, suchas a figure, a chalk board, an electronic device, a clock, a businesscard holder, a name plate, a picture holder, a pen holder, a vase, andthe like. Alternatively, the member 50 may be a frame that holdsartwork, a photo, text and the like.

The interchangeable member 50 may denote an affiliation, specialinterest, hobby, a calendar event and or special occasion design and thelike. Calendar events may be any year, month, day, week designation, aholiday, a season, and the like. Calendar events may be those used inmodern day calendars, ancient calendars, foreign calendars, and thelike. Examples of a member 50 depicting an affiliation include but arenot limited to a design that is: organization-related, sports-related,school-related, geographic location-related, occupation-related and thelike. Examples of a member 50 depicting a special interest include butare not limited to a design that is related to or includes: a motorizeddevice, food, animals, movies, jewelry and the like. Examples of amember 50 depicting a hobby include but are not limited to a design thatis related to or includes: sports, reading, sewing, gardening, travel,coin collecting, genealogy, and the like. Examples of a member 50depicting a season include but are not limited to a design that isrelated to or includes: summer, spring, fall winter, rain, snow,sunshine, hurricane, volcano, sea, mountain, animals, elements, fishing,hunting, allergy, mating and the like. Examples of a member 50 depictinga holiday include but are not limited to a design that is related to orincludes: Chinese New Year, New Year's Eve and Day, Martin-Luther King,Lincoln, Washington, or other President, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick'sDay, Daylight Savings Time, Palm Sunday, Passover, Easter related days,Earth Day, Arbor Day, Mother's Day, Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, FlagDay, Father's Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Rosh Hashanah relateddays, Yom Kippur related days, Columbus Day, United Nations Day,Halloween, Election Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Hanukkahrelated days, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and the like. Examples of amember 50 depicting a special occasion include but are not limited to adesign that is related to or includes: a birth or birthday,confirmation, bar/bat mitzvah, graduation, promotion, engagement,adoption, a new pet, wedding, divorce, anniversary, funeral or wake,trip, parties and the like. Each design may include text.

In the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 6 a-6 d, the member 50 is one of asnowman design 60, a flower design 61, a sun design 62 and a pumpkindesign 63, each of which can be interchanged on the body as the seasonschange. In an alternate embodiment, more than one member may bereleasably attached to the body at the same time.

A user attaches the body 10 to a generally vertical structure andselects the member 50 and object to display. The user attaches one ormore member 50 to the first side surface 31 using the releasablyattaching means. The user attaches an object to the hanger using eitherthe hook 33 or the clip 21. When it becomes desirable to replace themember 50, the member is removed and replaced with a different member ormembers. A member 50 may be reused.

In an embodiment, the body and the member are formed from ferrousmetals. The releasably attaching means is a flat magnetic strip thatextends the length of the body. The body has a hole that a user may useto insert a nail or other fastening device to secure the body to a wall,door, etc. A hook extends from the front surface of the body of thehanger. In an embodiment, at least two members are assembled in a set.In an alternate embodiment, the set has a theme. In an embodiment, thetheme is seasonal and the members are those depicted in FIGS. 6 a-6 d.

Objects may be any device that a user wants to display or hang, such asa calendar, a photograph, a picture, artwork, a design, a photo frame,text, such as a saying, a document, a recipe, and or instructions andthe like, a map, business forms, a catalog, telephone head set, snackslunch, and the like. Objects suspended from the hanger are suspendedfrom the hook or the clip such that the object is in a substantiallyparallel relationship with the second side surface 32.

The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments and examples of thepresent invention have been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the aboveteachings. It will be understood that the invention is intended to coveralternatives, modifications and equivalents. The embodiments were chosenand described in order to best explain the principles of the inventionand its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in theart to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with variousmodifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It istherefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims,the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically describedherein.

1. A hanger comprising: a body, said body comprising a fastening meansand a first and a second side surface, said first side having means forreleasably attaching one or more interchangeable member; and a hook,said hook extending from the first side surface.
 2. The hanger of claim1 wherein the hook comprises a first section extending generallyperpendicular from the body and a second section attached to the firstsection extending upward from the first section.
 3. The hanger of claim1 comprising a clip, said clip having a first end with an openingcorresponding to the hook and a second end having an object-releasablysecuring means.
 4. The hanger of claim 1 wherein the fastening means isa magnetic member connected to the second side surface.
 5. The hanger ofclaim 1 wherein the fastening means is a hole defined in the body forreceiving a hanger-securing means.
 6. The hanger of claim 1 wherein themeans for releasably attaching the one or more interchangeable member tothe body is selected from the group magnetic and mechanical means. 7.The hanger of claim 1 wherein the means for releasably attaching one ormore interchangeable member is selected from the group of a magneticmember, a spring biased clip, a frictional holder, a hook and loopfastener holder, an adhesive holder, and a pocket.
 8. The hanger ofclaim 1 wherein the releasably attaching means comprises a body portionconnected to the first side surface that corresponds to a compatibleportion connected to a back surface of the member.
 9. A hangercomprising: at least one interchangeable member; a body, said bodycomprising fastening means and a first and a second side surface, saidfirst side surface having means for releasably attaching the at leastone interchangeable member; and a hook, said hook extending from thefirst side surface.
 10. The hanger of claim 9 wherein the member is atleast one piece selected from the group flat and three-dimensional. 11.The hanger of claim 9 wherein the member is at least one of an artworkand a textual work.
 12. The hanger of claim 9 wherein the member has adesign depicting at least one of an affiliation, a special interest, ahobby, a calendar event and a special occasion.
 13. The hanger of claim9 wherein the member is selected from the group of a snowman design, aflower design, a sun design and a pumpkin design.
 14. The hanger ofclaim 9 comprising a set of interchangeable members.
 15. The hanger ofclaim 14 wherein the set has a theme.
 16. The hanger of claim 15 whereinthe theme is at least one of an affiliation, a special interest, ahobby, seasonal, a holiday, and a special occasion design.
 17. Thehanger of claim 9 comprising a clip, said clip having a first end withan opening corresponding to the hook and a second end having anobject-releasably securing means.
 18. A hanger comprising: a set ofinterchangeable members, said set comprising a selection of membersgrouped by a theme; a body, said body comprising fastening means, a holefor receiving a hanger-securing means, a first side surface and a secondside surface, said first side surface having means for releasablyattaching the at least one interchangeable decorative member; and ahook, said hook extending from the first side surface.